Lost Souls
by bellstar0
Summary: "If you don't open up. If you don't let anyone in. You'll fail. You need friends, you need people who've got your back. It's the only way you are nothing." Kubo Atarake isn't a very social person. He's secluded and keeps to himself. When he's thrust into a virtual war between monsters and humans, he must learn how to cooperate in order to gain his freedom.
1. What the fish!

I looked behind me, anxious. Dark shadows seemed to be enveloping my footsteps barely an inch behind me. I ran faster, panic shaking my body and my pulse beating furiously against my wrist. A lone pillar approached and I swung around, hiding myself behind it, gasping for breath.

The harsh sounds of wind and bitter cold drew closer and closer before they skirted past me… Only to swerve around and rush back towards me again.

I cursed and sprinted back the other way, following an invisible path, the only thing on my mind to get away from the dark evil chasing me.

Suddenly I came across a large pool of dark water. My reflection looked haggard, my hair wild, and eyes wide. Terrified. I ran along the bank of the water pool only to approach a shelf, giving way into nothingness below.

It wasn't a good idea to jump. But I'd take whatever was down there over the thing that was chasing me any day. Taking a deep breath, I threw myself over the side of the cliff.

I shot up, my skin prickling with the familiar feeling of being drenched in sweat. I opened my eyes fully, though black still bled into my vision.

My alarm clock was blaring loudly. I sighed and swiped my hair away. A light weight in my right hand called my attention and I looked down on it, still shook thoroughly from my odd dream. It was nerve gear made just for the game sword art online. Curious, I put it on. Nothing happened.

I had heard of the game from my weekly trips to the city. I owned a shop there and I sold electronic pieces I made to various customers from around the country. I lived alone but I kept up with the news from the large projection on the building across from my shop. A demonstration for this particular game had took place.

"Link start?" I questioned, hesitantly. An introduction popped up, swirling my head with visuals. A menu clearly stating, 'Create Character' appeared.

I looked around and saw others just like me, selecting the features to create their characters. "Excuse me," I called out. None of them could hear me. I turned back to the display in front of my eyes and quickly crafted a character resembling myself. A figure with Black spiky hair with bangs that fell into its eyes, hazel colored eyes and a lean body with slight hints of muscles, stared back at me. I pushed a button labeled done.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by colorful, beautiful scenery. "What the fish..."

At the top of my vision I saw the words 'Beginners town'. I felt cold metal on my back and I pulled it out of a holster on my back. It turned out to be a weapon of some kind. It was a rod that curved at the top like a one-sided hammer.

' _Grrrrrrrr Grrrooooaarrrr'_ I turned towards the growling noises only to find a group of dogs resembling hell itself. One jumped at me and I instinctively swung the hammer. The dog slammed back into the ground and whimpered helplessly. All of a sudden, I felt sorry for the creature despite it's harsh nature.

The other dogs were growling at me ferociously but I slowly placed my hammer down and raised both hands hoping to show a symbol of peace. The dogs bared their teeth and scratched at the ground leaving marks in the dirt. I slowly moved towards the injured dog, one minuscule step at a time. The dogs growled even louder and before I knew it, they turned on their tails and ran away, taking their injured comrade with them.


	2. meeting new people

Two weeks later…

I was sitting in a meeting where people were talking about how to defeat the floor 1 boss.

"blah" that's what I heard because I was so bored. Me and some guy named Kirito were both sitting next to a girl named Asuna. When Kirito heard we had to work with a partner to kill the boss, Kirito scooched fast to Asuna and he asked her to team up.

Then he turned to me, the same question falling from his lips. I reluctantly agreed to join him and he stuck out his hand in an odd way. I didn't know what to do so I slapped him instead. "What the fish was that for!" He yelled. "I thought you were trying to attack me." I replied. I heard asuna giggling slightly. Suddenly the meeting was over.

(Kirito pov)

We were walking in the forest and that Kubo guy abruptly stopped. I asked him what was wrong and he said "shhhh". He suddenly took out a disk as thin as paper and threw it at me I dodged it and a rabbit was killed. The rabbit morphed into another player, now dead. Then it disappeared into a bunch of pentagons. "Watch your step. It's dangerous out here" he said. I turned around and started to inspect my knives to make sure they were clean. Asuna gasped. I looked at her and she whispered, "Yeah no kidding" I slowly turned to see the monster that was eating Kubo.

(Asuna pov)

I looked at the monster and saw that it was the floor 1 boss. The area changed into a giant rainbow room. Then I heard the boss let out a cry of disbelief. Then I did to, because Kubo suddenly turned into a log in a poof of smoke. Then one of our teammates attacked but he was sent flying away by the monster and he died forever. Then I saw Kubo. His eyes were black with a design and a scar on his right eye that was never there before. His body was still slim and skinny but he was surrounded by swirling shadows. Then he attacked.

Hey guys if you enjoyed that chapter of lost souls please review and leave a comment if you like it!


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